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16 July 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Kaleidoscope Studios
Michael von Maltitz
Prof Michael von Maltitz challenges current science education paradigms at the inaugural NAS Research Conference, urging a shift from grade-driven learning to fostering critical thinking, curiosity, and human intelligence in the era of AI and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In his keynote address at the inaugural NAS Research Conference on 1 July 2025, Prof Michael von Maltitz delivered a wide-ranging and compelling critique of the current state of science education. Speaking to an audience of researchers and academics, he challenged assumptions about learning, assessment, and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education – offering both caution and practical guidance.

Prof Von Maltitz – from the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of the Free State (UFS) – opened with an overview of the industrial revolutions leading up to the current Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterised by artificial intelligence, connectivity, and data-driven automation. He warned against remaining entrenched in this phase of development, arguing that AI, while powerful, is not truly intelligent. “AI … is … artificial,” he said. “It is based on brute-forcing very large numbers of very basic operations at blazing speeds, linking external inputs to stored information. And so, it’s not intelligent. It’s just strong.”

He cautioned that the unchecked use of AI – driven by efficiency, not understanding – risks entrenching systems that prioritise ease and profit over education and well-being. “Everything is profit-driven at the moment. Everything, and I mean … everything. Really. It is this greed that keeps us firmly stuck in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

This, he suggested, makes the vision of a Fifth Industrial Revolution both necessary and urgent. The next phase, he argued, should be one that centres on sustainability, equity, human-machine collaboration – and critically – the development of human intelligence and critical thinking. “There should be something here about ‘building human intelligence’ or ‘critical thinking’. This would truly make the Fifth Industrial Revolution about bettering humanity.”

 

When the measure becomes the mission

Central to his address was the idea of ‘broken proxies’ – the phenomenon where a measurement designed to approximate a goal becomes the goal itself, distorting the original purpose. He illustrated this concept using examples ranging from GDP and crime statistics to social media algorithms, before turning to science education. Here, grades and degrees, once indicators of knowledge and progress, have become ends in themselves.

“The only things that are important to students are grades and degrees, because the incentives are linked to grades and degrees, and so, obviously, all effort will go towards grades and degrees.”

Prof Von Maltitz reflected on his own academic journey, describing how he excelled at exams and accumulated qualifications, yet absorbed little meaningful knowledge in the process. “I played the grades game, and nothing stuck in long-term memory, as is the case with many of our students today,” he said. “Why? Well, there were merit bursaries, degrees, and awards up for offer, not for learning, but for performing well.”

This system, he argued, incentivises performance over understanding and leaves students vulnerable to shortcuts – particularly through generative AI. “Under the assumption that rewards are linked to grades and not education, if you offer a student an assessment method that can be gamed … it will be gamed.”

Referencing a recent MIT study, he warned of the cognitive toll of over-reliance on AI. “They showed that, over four months, the AI users’ brains became systematically less active, especially when asked at the end of the study to do a brain-only essay. They had lower brain function in every area. In four months, they had become significantly ‘dumber’ than their counterparts in the other arms of the study.”

 

Rebuilding curiosity and competence

Despite this sobering analysis, the address was not without optimism. Prof Von Maltitz urged delegates to reimagine education by shifting away from content-heavy teaching and rigid assessment structures. He called for a renewed focus on curiosity, conscious incompetence, and lifelong learning. “Are our students able to self-assess, identify weaknesses and gaps in their knowledge bases, seek answers, and build their own learning paths? Are they humble enough to say, ‘I don’t know’, and curious enough to go and find the answers?”

To support this vision, he proposed four practical steps: redefining teaching goals, distilling module content to its essentials, focusing on graduate attributes such as critical thinking and communication, and reassessing how learning is measured. He encouraged alternatives to traditional exams, including portfolios, interviews, peer assessment, and real-world problem solving.

“We don’t have to pretend to teach students everything in a particular field – but rather we show them what is out there to be learned,” he said.

“Education should not be about teaching everything,” he concluded, “but about showing students what can be known, how to learn, and where to go next.”

 

About Prof Von Maltitz

Prof Von Maltitz is Associate Professor in the UFS Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science. He has a long-standing connection with the university, having been a student at the UFS since the start of his BSc, which he completed with distinction in 2003. Over the following years, he obtained a BCom Honours in 2004, MCom in Economics in 2005, BSc Honours in Mathematical Statistics in 2006, MSc in Mathematical Statistics in 2007, and completed his PhD in 2015 while already lecturing.

His research interests span statistics education, sequential regression multiple imputation, incomplete data, and multivariate statistics. He is also known for his strong focus on student engagement and the re-engineering of teaching and learning. His extensive contributions to the field have been recognised through multiple awards for excellence in education.

News Archive

Researcher wins prize for her work to reduce environmental pollution
2016-12-26

Description: Josepha Zielke Tags: Josepha Zielke 

Prof Danie Vermeulen, Dean of the Faculty of Natural
and Agricultural Sciences, and Josepha Zielke, a
PhD student at the Institute for Groundwater studies at the
University of the Free State.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Josepha Zielke, a PhD student at the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), received the prize for the best student presentation at the International Mine Water Association (IMWA) symposium in Leipzig, Germany, this year. Her paper was titled Fine Ash Leaching in Tailings Dams – An Impact on the Underlying Aquifers?
 
Zielke said: “It is an honour to receive this prize as a student. IMWA is a big association which allows you to establish a network with other scientists, to exchange opinions and ideas and to gain new inspiration for your own work. It was exciting and informative to hear about the research conducted around the world and to meet the researchers themselves.”
 
Born in Germany, Zielke always wanted to study overseas. During an exchange year in Grade 11, she visited South Africa. When she had to make a decision about in which country to complete her studies, South Africa was first choice as she was familiar with the people and the country.
 
Zielke joins leading institute on groundwater research in the country
She completed her BSc Hons in Geology at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. After working for a year in exploration, she decided to focus her studies on water-related problems which  has been a growing issue, not only in South Africa, but in many places around the world. Zielke heard that the UFS Institute for Groundwater Studies was the leading institute on groundwater research in the country, and decided to join the university.
 
After completing her MSc research, An analysis of the geochemical weathering profile within a fine ash tailings dam, Mpumalanga, South Africa, Zielke started the research for her PhD project on groundwater pollution along a fault system in Mpumalanga.
 
Research adding value to the environment by reducing pollution
She explains the focus of her research: “Several production plants and mine waste facilities are located on or near these geological structures which could be a possible cause of ground and surface water pollution. With the aid of geophysical ground surveys (using electromagnetics and electrical resistivity tomography), aquifer and tracer tests, we are trying to determine where the pollution is coming from, how far it has been distributed and to model the potential risks.
 
“This research will add value to the environment by preventing or at least reducing pollution leaking into the environment. Industrial sites always have a negative footprint on the environment but at least we try and contain it by finding the cause of ground and surface water pollution. Thereafter we try and solve the pollution problem or at least mitigate the damage to prevent the spreading of ground and surface water pollution in the area.”

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